Go for Gold as Virgin America Announces a Sweet, Sweet Status Match

In case you thought that Virgin America only took after its sister airlines in mood-lit interior design, the airline is copying Virgin Australia's 2011 idea to attract business travelers and elite flyers by offering a status match.

Virgin America is specifically targeting elite flyers on United and American, offering free entry to their own Elevate Gold or Silver level status without the flyer having to sacrifice anything. United Premier 1K or Platinum, or an American Executive Platinum will automatically be Elevate Gold. United Premier Gold or American Platinum will automatically be matched to Elevate Silver. All you have to do is ask. Here's how:

· Sign up for Virgin America's Elevate program (if you haven't already)
· Take a screenshot of your current mileage summary (with elite status level visible) or an image of your member card for United or American
· Email statusmatch@virginamerica.com with your Elevate number and the above screenshot/image.
· Kick back and wait 7-14 days to see your new Virgin America Elevate status update.
· Fly somewhere! You'll keep the matched status through April 30, 2013 and have the option to renew it by keeping on flying--with any of the three Virgin airlines. And requalifying will be far simpler than earning it from scratch, of course.
To keep your Silver status after April, you’ll need to earn 8,000 status points ($1,600) – reduced to 3,000 points for Virgin America Visa cardholders.

Usually, without this status match boost, flyers on Virgin America would have to earn 20,000 status points in a calendar year for Silver and, for Gold, 50,000. Elevate points are based on how much money you spend on flights, not on miles flown, and it's 5 points per $1 spent. You'll need to spend $4,000 in one year flying Virgin America for Silver in this case, and $10,000 total for Goldand that's all from SCRATCH.

Now that you're likely doing some calculations in your head, let's drool a bit over the perks that come with Elevate Silver and Gold:

Perks of Elevate Silver

· Check in using the First Class line at the airport
· Use the Priority lanes for both security and boarding
· Check one bag for free
· Earn 25% bonus points on your flights
· Select Main Cabin Express seats for free
· Opt-in for possible free upgrades to Main Cabin Select
· Purchase an upgrade to First Class at 12 hours before the flight
· Get one 25% off code per year for Non-refundable economy (aka the cheapest seats)
· Access a dedicated phone line

Perks of Elevate Gold

· Check in using the First Class line at the airport
· Use the Priority lanes for both security and boarding
· Check three bags for free
· Earn 100% bonus points on your flights
· Select Main Cabin Express seats for free
· Opt-in for possible free upgrades to Main Cabin Select
· Purchase an upgrade to First Class at 24 hours before the flight
· Get two 25% off codes per year for Non-refundable economy (aka the cheapest seats)
· Access a dedicated phone line

You have until April 30, 2013 to request the status match, but the earlier the better to score possible perks. At least a few more months means those flyers on the cusp of the high AA and UA statuses have time to reach it and still go for the Gold with Virgin America.